BUSINESS NEWS - Despite Eskom hovering on the brink, the three unions representing more than 33 000 Eskom staff members have succeeded in negotiating a dream wage deal.
But how do they sleep at night after grabbing salary increases way above inflation for the next three years and a R10 000-after-tax pasella (‘gift’ in Zulu, and ‘settlement bonus’ in this case) per worker to seal the deal?
Apparently, they sleep very soundly, dreaming about the next engagement with Eskom management aimed at securing annual bonuses of at least 12% of their annual remuneration.
After all, they don’t have to lose sleep over the unprotected strike and unlawful sabotage of Eskom operations and assets they embarked on. Yes, it did result in load shedding that the very fragile local economy couldn’t afford and yes, Eskom did incur millions of rands of extra cost in an effort to keep the lights on, but hey, the unions will see to it that no member of the bargaining unit will be disciplined.
In fact, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Metalworkers Union of SA (Numsa) made the signing of the deal dependent on assurance from Eskom that their members would not be disciplined.
At more than R330 million for the R10 000 pasella every worker will get, and with a 7.5% salary increase in the first year, the cash-strapped Eskom will have to cough up more than R1 billion in additional staff costs this year.
The unions argue that Eskom is in its current precarious state not because of anything their members did wrong, but as a result of the shenanigans of the Molefes, Singhs and Kokos (Brian, Anoj and Matshela; former CEO, CFO and chief generation officer respectively).
This argument does not hold, says economist Mike Schüssler. Much has been said about Eskom’s inflated staff numbers and low productivity. Those very members of the bargaining unit have benefited handsomely and gave very little in return.
Schüssler says Eskom staff do not appreciate how well they are remunerated in comparison with most of their countryfolk, including many professionals. He says they hold the country ransom by sabotaging the Eskom power system if they don’t get their way.
“With this attitude, Eskom will not recover and will continue to weigh on the whole economy,” says Schüssler.
